Criminology For Dummies. Steven Briggs
is much easier to do in the winter.
Robberies of drug dealers are extremely common (known as a drug rip), but few of these cases show up in statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Obviously, drug dealers aren’t likely to report being victimized, which is precisely what makes them such appealing targets to robbers.
Kidnapping
When you hear the word kidnapping, you likely think of the taking and holding of a person against her will for ransom purposes. Early in the 20th century, kidnappings of public or wealthy citizens happened regularly. The most famous case may have been the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son from his bedroom.
Other well-known cases include the kidnappings of the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in California and of the 9-year-old son of lumberman J. P. Weyerhaeuser from Tacoma, Washington.
These days, however, kidnapping for ransom is relatively rare in the United States. Much more common than kidnapping for ransom is kidnapping in conjunction with another crime. For example, in a rape case, if a person is transported or confined against her will, a prosecutor may charge the offender with both rape and kidnapping.
Recently, the United States is seeing cases where Mexican kidnappers snatch family members of other Mexicans who are in the country illegally and hold them for ransom. Kidnappers view this action as a low-risk crime because the victims aren’t likely to contact police for fear of being deported.
Because kidnapping is relatively rare in the United States, the FBI doesn’t gather statistics on the number of kidnappings that occur.
Sentences for kidnapping are often similar to those for other violent crimes, such as robbery, rape, or aggravated assault.
U.S. VIOLENT CRIME RATES IN RECENT DECADES
Here’s a sampling of violent crime rates in the United States:
Homicide: According to Uniform Crime Report statistics from the FBI, the homicide rate in the United States rose steadily from 1965 to 1980, when it peaked at more than 10 homicides per 100,000 persons. The rate remained relatively high until it began to decline in 1993. The rate was roughly cut in half by 1999, where it has since stabilized. In 2019, the rate was 5.0 homicides for every 100,000 persons. (Preliminary statistics for 2020 show a significant increase in homicides and will bear watching.)
Assault and battery: According to the National Crime Victimization Study (NCVS), the number of assaults and batteries in the United States peaked at about 16 aggravated assaults and 50 simple assaults for every 1,000 persons around 1993 and dropped until 2015, when there were 3 aggravated assaults per 1,000 persons. Since then, assaults have risen. In 2019, there were 3.7 aggravated assaults and 13.7 simple assaults per 1,000.
Rape and other sexual assault: According to the 2019 NCVS, there were over 459,000 rapes and sexual assaults that year — roughly 1.7 incidents per 1,000 persons. The level has slowly risen since 2011, when it reached a low of .9 incidents per 1,000.
Robbery: The number of robberies has been declining in the United States since 1993, according to the NCVS, when there were more than 1.7 million. In 2019, there were 534,421.
Pinpointing Causes of Violence
Why does a man strangle his spouse? Why does a woman shake her infant son until he dies? Why does a street gang member unload a clip into the home of a rival gang member?
Although the specific reasons why people commit crimes of violence vary from case to case, criminologists study potential underlying causes with the hope that they may be able to reduce the amount of violence in society. Keep in mind that these studies aren’t just academic exercises; policymakers base significant policy decisions on the conclusions that criminologists make from their studies. For example, does lengthening prison sentences deter some violent offenders from committing crimes? The answer to that question can lead to changes in the way judges hand down sentences. And do early family-intervention programs for juvenile delinquents help turn juveniles away from violent crime? The answer to that question can influence how much government money is or isn’t funneled into such prevention programs.
There are at least five key factors that may play a part in someone’s decision to engage in violence. I discuss these five factors in this section:
Drugs and alcohol
Family troubles
Mental illness
Society
Personal choices
Struggling with drugs and alcohol
Are you ready for a shocking statistic? More than half of all persons arrested have illegal drugs in their systems, and roughly 25 percent of offenders in prison reported being under the influence of drugs when they committed their offense.
And alcohol isn’t better. In 2016, 28 percent of all traffic deaths (10,497) were cause by drivers under the influence. A year 2000 study showed that in roughly 40 percent of homicides and assaults, the offender had been drinking.
As I explore in detail in Chapter 9, even more violence results from the business of illegal narcotics. Drug traffickers commonly protect territory and trafficking routes by using murder, assaults, and kidnapping. For example, Mexico, the primary drug source country for the United States and Canada, has experienced an explosion in drug related deaths in recent years. In 2007, the murder rate in Mexico was 7.9 deaths per 100,000. In 2019, it had risen to 29 deaths per 100,000, driven mostly by violent drug cartels. As just one example, in 2019, Mexican officials arrested the son of infamous drug cartel leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. In the Sinaloa state capitol, armed drug cartel members erected 19 roadblocks and engaged in 14 armed attacks until Mexican officials agreed to release El Chapo’s son, known as “Los Chapitos.” Eight people were killed and 16 injured.
The drug business within the United States also commonly results in violence as dealers compete for markets and customers. Increasingly, violent offenders commit armed robberies (known as rips) on drug dealers, seeking to obtain drugs or cash. Drug dealers are particularly susceptible to violence because they’re not likely to seek protection from law enforcement.
Feeling the lasting effects of family troubles
Proving that a particular family problem led to a particular act of violence is probably impossible. Nonetheless, some common issues within a family are associated with juvenile delinquency and future violence. For example, violence between parents (or between a parent and his or her partner) has been linked to future violence by children. For this reason, many state laws provide more severe punishment for domestic violence when it’s committed in the presence of a child.
Similarly, physical and sexual abuse by adults on children may play a big part in leading those children to commit the same acts when they grow up. Kids who are constantly exposed to violence can come to view violence as an appropriate way to solve conflict. For example, a boy who regularly sees his mom’s boyfriend physically and emotionally abuse her may copy the abusive behavior when he grows up because